Little Guidance

[SpaceGhost]

I plan on doing a hike on the Long Trail sometime around September 1st, 2011 and I'll be flying in from Hawaii. I wanted to do an End-to-End hike but I've been doing some research and it doesn't really seem like there is a good transportation at the north end of the trail. So I've been looking at other alternatives and looking at this forum for some tips.

I've come to a little plan but would want to know what some of you think of this and any suggestions you may have.

Fly into Burlington from Honolulu.
Take a taxi from the airport to Richmond (Or as far they will take me)
Hike to Bamforth Ridge for my first night and Start the trail from there
End in Williamstown
Take a bus (Peter Pan) to Boston (Maybe visit for a couple days) and Fly back to Honolulu

This is just a very rough idea that I came up with after doing some simple research but It could be completely idiotic.

Thanks

[Yahtzee]

I'd keep trying to find a way to the border. Your plan would skip some of the best hiking of the LT. Mansfield, Jay's Peak and a few other choice spots lie north of the river. You would essentially be starting at the highlight, Camel's Hump, a view that rivals any on the A.T.

You still have a good bit of time left to find a shuttle. Just lurk on LT sites and here to see if you can find a shuttle. If you are coming the whole way from HI, 50 or so more bucks for a shuttle isn't going to be too much of a hit to the wallet, but missing out on the northernmost part of the LT would be a real missed opportunity.

[wvgrinder]

One of the owners of the North Troy Bed & Breakfast (Norm) works in Burlington Monday thru Thursday. He gave me a lift to Burlington after I finished my LT e2e nobo. All he asks is some gas $. I stayed at the Inn & this is how I found out about this.

I would recommend flying into Burlington, catching a ride w/ Norm to North Troy, staying at their B&B, & starting your hike the next morning. North Troy is a quaint little border town-but there's a 5 star restaurant there. It almost seems out of place-but the food was awesome & the prices not too outrageous.

[wvgrinder]

http://www.northtroyinn.com/

[mark schofield]

The hike from the Northern Terminus to Bamforth ridge is a bit different from the rest of the trail. Like Yathzee said, not to be missed.

[Tuts]

I went south to north and hitched back down to Smuggler's Notch. Hitching is a great way to get around, especially in Vermont. I have an article about it on my website. Good luck to you and I'll be glad to help you in any way I can.

[SpaceGhost]

Thanks for all the quick replies. I guess I was a fool to consider not doing the northern part of the trail, haha.

Thanks for information about the North Troy Inn wvgrinder, looks like an awesome place to stay right before the hike.

Also had a couple people contact me offering lifts, which is wonderful. Seems like I'll be able to do the whole trail one way or another now.

[bustedchucks]

http://www.everywheretaxi.com/index.html

I used this fellow to get from Burlington to Journey's End. It's a for profit endeavor so it won't be as cheap as other options, but he will work to your schedule.

[StubbleJumper]

One option to consider is to fly to Montreal and then take a bus to Mansonville, Quebec. From there it's about a 5 mile walk on quiet country roads to Journey's End (but it does require a passport to cross the border). I actually did this last summer heading northbound. You can easily get by in English in Montreal and in Mansonville.

The Montreal-Mansonville bus costs about $25 and details can be found here:

http://www.destinationknowlton.com/knowlton-bus-schedule.html

[DuctTape]

For what it's worth, I rode a taxi from the Burlington airport to route 101 on the east side of the mountains. Route 101 runs north and south, and it's a straight shot up to North Troy. Hitchhiking in Vermont is easy. I woke up in Burlington that day, and spent the night at Journey's End Shelter.

[Papa D]

Space Ghost: I end to ended NOBO last year and hired a taxi service to pick my clan up and take us back to N. Adams, MA - not the cheapest thing in the world but it sure was convenient. You will probably meet a NOBO or two that will co-op with you - they picked us up right at the end of Journey's End Road - there is a farm there with some horses, silos and stuff - Thomas Transportation (603) 352-5550.

[sharky]

SpacGhost I may see you out there because I'm planning a south to north thru of the LT starting around Sept 1st. I'm curious why you chose north to south?

I'm having a hard time figuring out the logistics of getting a ride/getting back to civilization in a semi timely manner from the northern terminus via either bus/train/flying back to the Washington DC-Baltimore area.
Anyone have any suggestions?

[StubbleJumper]

SpacGhost I may see you out there because I'm planning a south to north thru of the LT starting around Sept 1st. I'm curious why you chose north to south?

I'm having a hard time figuring out the logistics of getting a ride/getting back to civilization in a semi timely manner from the northern terminus via either bus/train/flying back to the Washington DC-Baltimore area.
Anyone have any suggestions?


As I suggested earlier in the thread, if you bring your passport, you can keep walking to Mansonville, Quebec and catch a bus to Montreal. From Montreal, you can fly to National or Dulles, or you can get a train to NYC. However, understand that Journey's End is really in the middle of nowhere. Whether to hitch a ride (or get a shuttle) to Burlington, or walk to Mansonville and get a bus to Montreal, you'll burn off most of a day just getting to an airport.